Khasi - Marriage and Family

Marriage.
The Khasi are, for the most part, monogamous. Their social organization
does not favor other forms of Marriage; therefore, deviation from this
norm is quite rare. Marriage is a purely civil contract. The ceremony
consists of a betrothal, the pouring of a libation to the clan's
first maternal ancestor, the taking of food from the same plate, and the
taking of the bride to the house of the groom's mother where a
ring is placed on the bride's finger by her mother-in-law. Males
are between the ages of 18 and 35 when they marry, while women's
ages range from 13 to 18. Although parentally arranged marriages do
occur, this does not appear to be the preferred form. Young men and
women are permitted considerable freedom in the choice of mates and in
premarital Sexual relations. Potential marriage partners are likely to
have been acquainted before betrothal. Once a man has selected his
desired spouse, he reports his choice to his parents. They then secure
the services of a male relative (or other male unrelated to the family)
to make the arrangements with the female's family (provided that
the man's parent's agree with his choice). The parents of
the woman ascertain her wishes and if she agrees to the arrangement her
parents check to make Certain that the man to be wed is not a member of
their clan (since Khasi clans are exogamous, marital partners may not be
from the same clan). If this is satisfactory, then omens are taken. If
the omens are favorable, then a wedding date is set, but if the omens
are negative, the wedding plans are abandoned. Divorce is frequent (with
causes ranging from incompatibility to lack of offspring) and easily
obtainable. This ceremony consists of the husband handing the wife 5
cowries or paisa which the wife then hands back to her husband along
with 5 of her own. The husband then throws these away or gives them to a
village elder who throws them away. According to Gurdon, postmarital
residence is matrilocal, with the husband and wife leaving the
wife's mother's residence after the birth of one or two
children. C. Nakane makes a further distinction between two types of
marriages, the first being marriage to an heiress, the second marriage
to a nonheiress. The type of marriage is, for Nakane, the determining
factor in marital residence. This practice is the result of rules and
regulations governing inheritance and property ownership. These rules
are themselves related to the structure of the Khasi iing. In short,
postmarital residence when an heiress is involved must be uxorilocal,
while postmarital residence when a nonheiress is involved is neolocal.
Khasi men prefer to marry a nonheiress because it will allow them to
form independent family units somewhat immune to pressures from the
wife's kin. A Khasi man returns to his iing upon the death of his
spouse (if she is an heiress). If she is not an heiress, he may remain
with his children if they are not too young and if he plans to marry his
wife's younger sister. Marriage to a deceased wife's elder
sister is prohibited. This is the only form of the sororate found among
the Khasi. The levirate does not obtain in Khasi society. It has been
suggested that the increasing monetization of the Khasi economy and
availability of jobs for men beyond village confines may have altered
postmarital residence patterns.

Domestic Unit.
Around the turn of the century, the basic Khasi domestic unit was a
single household made up of a grandmother, her daughters, and her
daughters' children (the grandmother being the head of the
household during her lifetime). In mid-century, Nakane distinguished
between four types of Khasi households: (1) a household comprised of
wife, husband, their children, and wife's unmarried sisters and
brothers; (2) a household composed of nearly all the iing members (but
not including their spouses) or a larger Household (including wives and
husbands) that contains all descendants of three or more generations
from one woman (in which case the iing corresponds to the kpoh); (3) an
intermediate type of household, between types 1 and 2, that is popular
among newly married couples before the birth of children, in which a
husband is supposed to live in the wife's house but often returns
to his sister's house for meals and to sleep, and in which the
husband is responsible for working his wife's fields and may also
work those of his mother and sister; and (4) one nuclear family unit
(usually when the man marries a nonheiress). According to Nakane, most
Khasi households are of types 1,3, and 4. All three types are usually
found in one Village. Type 2 was prominent at one time among the
Jaintias.

Inheritance.
With regard to real property, inheritance goes to the youngest daughter
of the deceased mother and upon the youngest daughter's death in
turn to her youngest daughter. Other daughters are entitled to a smaller
share of the inheritance of their mother, but the largest share goes to
the youngest daughter. When the mother has no daughters, the inheritance
goes to her sister's youngest daughter. If the sister has no
daughters, then the mother's sisters and their female kin receive
the inheritance. Men are prohibited from Inheriting real property. All
property acquired by a man before marriage belongs to his mother.
Property acquired by him after marriage belongs to his wife and
children. Of these Children, the youngest daughter will receive the
largest share of the inheritance upon the death of the man's
wife. If the man has no daughters, then his sons receive his property
upon the death of their mother. Christian conversion has had and may
continue to have a deleterious effect on the Khasi system of
inheritance. Khasi heiresses who converted to Christianity lost their
right to inherit at one time in Khasi social history. With the gradual
acceptance of Christianity, these rights were restored. However, there
is a tendency for heiresses who convert to Christianity to discontinue
their sacerdotal functions within the family. It has been suggested that
this may threaten the institution of ultimogeniture. It has also been
suggested that the availability of nonland-based employment for males
may undermine the economic basis of matrilineal inheritance.

Socialization.
Naming occurs one day after birth. Family activities center on the
performance of religious rites, management of family property, and the
maintenance and protection of kin relations. Men, women, and children
participate fully in these and other labor-related activities. Women,
However, are the chief agents of socialization.